The Earthquake Watch Division of Thailand’s Meteorological Department is closely monitoring a series of tremors in Wang Nua district of the northern province of Lampang today fearing a major earthquake may be imminent.
The first tremor, measuring at 2.1 on the Richter scale, was detected at 12.01pm with its epicentre in Wang Nua district of Lampang. There were then 10 aftershocks within the following two hours of 3.3 magnitude at 12.17 pm, 2.4 magnitude at 12.28 pm, 2.1 magnitude at 12.29 pm, 2.6 magnitude at 12.54 pm, 2.0 magnitude at 12.57 pm, 2.3 magnitude at 1.17 pm, 3.0 magnitude at 1.51 pm, 2.4 magnitude at 1.55 pm, 3.1 magnitude at 2 pm and 2.6 magnitude at 2.19 pm.
The Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported that the epicentre of the quake was about eight kilometres underground and the events were not felt by people in the district or elsewhere.
Mr. Suwit Kuosuwan, director of Fault Lines Research of the Mineral Resources Department, told Thai PBS that the public should not panic, adding that nothing unusual had occurred on the Phayao fault line.
The last major earthquake on the fault line was a 6.3 magnitude event in the Pan district of the northern province of Chiang Rai on May 5th, 2014, which caused extensive damage to houses and other structures.
